A Change of Plans (33 page)

“You’ll stay here now, won’t you? Make your home with us?” His intense blue eyes begged me to make it so.

I let out a deep breath. I meant to repay Braedon’s estate for my expenses, but now I had an ER visit and a baby coming. “You sure you’re okay with that? I’m turning out to be kind of expensive.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Jack said, suddenly cross. “You’re my daughter now, and I take care of my family. Money’s no problem. My great-grandfather may have started
this
ranch, but my grandfather started a couple more in Texas, and one of them had oil on it. By the time he sold it, he’d made millions.”

He chuckled at my expression.

“You didn’t really think I could be a prosperous rancher without either a wife who had a job in town or an independent income, did you? And I’ll bet you thought my lack of money came between Braedon’s mother and me. No, they just didn’t approve of my social standing.”

Jack glanced around the large room with fondness. “Here, we’ve got everything we need and a little of what we want. That’s all that’s necessary to be happy. This house may seem large, but I came from a big family. We needed the space.” He winked at me. “Besides, you can only be in one room at a time.”

“Braedon was definitely his father’s son. He wasn’t materialistic either.”

That seemed to please Jack a lot.

O
NE LITTLE
incident showed how fast things were moving between Jack and Emily. It happened the first day I was fully up and about again. I had already gone to bed but had forgotten
my book in the living room. When I got to the stairs, Ethan and Owen stood at the bottom, peering stealthily into the kitchen.

I could tell they were trying to be quiet, so I tiptoed down to join them. Music came faintly from the kitchen, where Jack and Emily slow danced. Jack stopped and bent to kiss her—and it got hot pretty fast.

I grabbed the boys’ shirts and dragged them back up the stairs. They both had grins as wide as Jack Skellington’s.

“Don’t you dare say anything about this to either one of them!” I told the boys firmly when we reached the top of the stairs.

Owen shook his head. “Oh, we can have fun with this one!”

Ethan, however, turned serious. “No, Lyn’s right. That could ruin this. You know how Jack is. Let’s not mess this up for them.”

Owen paused, considering it, and then grunted. “You’re probably right. But all I can say is, it’s about time.”

J
ORI DROPPED
by in the early afternoon the next day when everyone else was gone.

“I’m in the kitchen,” I shouted as I hobbled to the oven to put in a cake.

He peeked around the doorway, his face alight. He held his arms behind him as though keeping something hidden from me.

Wary, I waited to see what he was up to.

Jori stepped into the room, swinging his arm around and presenting me with a beautiful bouquet of balloons. One of them had the image of a baby on it.

I hugged him.

He slid into one of the breakfast bar chairs. “So a part of Braedon will live on after all. I’m happy for you.”

“I still can’t believe it.”

He tilted his head. “You look different already. You have a glow about you.”

“It’s the hormones.”

“No. This comes from knowing, I think.” He checked his watch and rose. “I’ve got a class. I need to go.”

“Thank you for bringing these.” He hugged me goodbye, and I asked, “Would you like to come for dinner?”

“I would, but I have a date.” He shook a finger at me. “Since you helped me put a new spin on my reputation, I decided I’d better keep it going.”

“Don’t go breaking any hearts,” I warned.

He winked as he turned to leave. “No promises.”

J
ACK ACCOMPANIED
me to my first doctor’s appointment. He must have driven the receptionist crazy with his pacing around before the nurse called me into the consultation room. The doctor put to rest my biggest concern about my malnourished state at conception. Everything looked fine.

When the doctor was about to listen to my baby’s heartbeat, I said, “Jack will never forgive you if he’s not here for this.”

“Good idea.” The doctor poked his head out the door and asked his nurse to bring him in.

In a minute, my father-in-law burst into the examination room, brimming with excitement. When the doctor rolled the device over my belly, I reached out and took Jack’s hand. He covered it with his other hand, and we listened to the sound of
the galloping heartbeat coming out of the speaker. We looked at each other, our eyes misting.

If only Braedon could have been there.

W
E HAD
a few more altercations with the press. Mal continued to push me about doing an interview because Olivia Howard’s show persisted in calling him. The pressure from her people had ratcheted up again now they knew I was staying with Braedon’s family. Mal could tell they were starting to wear me down.

What helped me decide was the news coverage of a ceremony honoring Moli and the Scouts for their part in the rescue. While I watched, I realized how much I did want people to know about Jimmy, Maria, and Braedon. I also wanted them to know about those wonderful boys who had been lost.

I talked it over with Jack, and we called Mal to discuss conditions.

“I have to be able to control how this interview goes,” I told him, “including approving the final piece. Or it doesn’t happen.”

“That should be no problem,” he replied, his excitement coming through the phone. “They really want this. I think they’ll agree to just about anything you request. I’ll negotiate a healthy fee.”

“They pay fees for interviews?” An idea began to form in my mind.

“Sometimes they do.”

After thinking about it for a couple of days and discussing it with Jori, I called Mal again. “I want you to negotiate the largest sum you can get.”

“Okay.” His voice became soft. “Can you tell me why you need so much?”

“I want the money to go to the families of the two boys who were lost. I want the contract to guarantee it.”

“Great idea! I don’t think I’ll have a problem selling that at all.”

CHAPTER 34

J
ACK KEPT
a small jet at the Lewistown Airport and flew me to New York in mid-April to film the show.

Aislinn, D’Arcy, Elle, Mal, and Jori—who had already gone to New York for his show—met us at the airport.
The Olivia Howard Show
sent a limo to pick us up, and we were put in a suite in a fancy hotel.

I couldn’t believe how huge Elle had gotten. Her delivery date was close.

With a free evening, we went out to dinner and then to Jori’s art show. When we arrived at the gallery, there was the usual twittering as people recognized him. He played the host, taking us around and showing his pieces. The art on display put his pictures in Montana to shame; these were his best works.

Jori and I got a little ahead of the others and, as we came around a corner, I found myself on board the ship again. The pictures in the alcove were all from Elle’s little group: in the gym during a self-defense class, during a dinner gathering on the sky deck, dancing in the Crow’s Nest. And a beautiful oil painting of Jimmy and Maria.

Jori put his arm around me. “Why are you crying? Didn’t I capture them right?”

“Of course you captured them right.” I leaned against him and stared at the pictures. “Jori, this is incredible. Can I get a copy to give to Jimmy’s family?”

“I’ve been thinking about giving them the original since you told me about your visit,” he said quietly.

“How hard is it to have prints made? You know,” I continued without letting him answer, “I wish I could take these to the interview tomorrow.”

“That would be an excellent idea,” D’Arcy commented as he and the others joined us, “if the gallery owners will release them.”

Mal examined the pictures. “They will. Why miss out on an opportunity to have their gallery showcased on
The Olivia Howard Show
?”

I winked at Jori who wore an almost fatalistic expression I didn’t understand. “Wouldn’t hurt our resident artist either. Right?”

He grinned. “Right.”

E
LLE AND
Aislinn helped me with my hair the next morning, rolling and twisting it into a very feminine braid.

Olivia greeted us when we arrived, which I understood was not common. Even more beautiful in person, she was younger than I had thought, perhaps only a couple of years older than me.

I introduced her to everyone, and her eyes danced when I presented her to Jori. He took the hand Olivia extended to him,
and she said, “So, we meet at last.” He bowed, seeming to hold on a little longer than necessary.

Shooting Jori a quick glance, I explained about his painting to Olivia. “I would love to show them if you think there’d be time.”

Her eyes never left Jori as she said, “I have seen some of Mr. Virtanen’s work at the Schulze Gallery. I would love to include a piece in today’s taping.”

One of Olivia’s staff members then asked me to follow him to the other side of the stage. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed Elle’s hand and followed the man to a room where a woman touched up my hair and makeup. From there, they sent me to the Green Room, where another staff member kitted me out with a microphone and explained what would happen.